34 h 32 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 34 h 32 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a man who believes the best of everyone sets out into a world of tricksters?
Samuel Pickwick wants to study human nature. With three friends from his club, the trusting retired businessman travels by coach across southern England. Inns, cricket fields and rowdy elections offer plenty to observe—and plenty of chances to go wrong. In Charles Dickens’s first novel, one comic scrape leads to another, while Pickwick’s kindness meets people ready to exploit it.
Then Sam Weller arrives: a London servant with quick jokes, street wisdom and fierce loyalty. His wit gives Pickwick a sharp-eyed companion in a world of fast talkers like Alfred Jingle. But the laughter has an edge. When Mrs Bardell misunderstands her lodger’s words, Pickwick faces a legal threat that puts his plain goodness under pressure.
What you’ll discover
- A trusting heart tested Follow a generous man whose belief in others brings both trouble and warmth.
- Wit with fierce loyalty Meet Sam Weller, whose jokes and practical sense make him much more than a servant.
- England on the road Step into coaching inns, noisy elections and welcoming homes alongside Pickwick’s curious travelling party.
- Laughter with a sharp edge See lawyers chase fees rather than truth as Dickens turns comedy toward social criticism.
- Room for another tale Pause by the fireside for stories that interrupt the journey and widen its wandering pleasures.
Who will love it
For readers who love warm, talkative humour full of colourful people, comic journeys and loyal friendships, or who want to see where Dickens began.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A club of curious men sets out
- A servant arrives who outshines his master
- A landlady misreads a kind remark
- Elections, inns and the wrong bedroom
- Strange tales told by the fireside
- The law closes in on a good man
- Goodness and innocence face a cunning world
- Law, money, class and the comfort of fellowship
- A comic novel that found its own shape
Who’s who
- Samuel PickwickA kind, round, trusting retired businessman who founds the Pickwick Club and travels to study human nature, and who will not back down from what is right.
- Sam WellerA quick-witted London boots who becomes Pickwick's servant, full of jokes and street wisdom, and fiercely loyal to his master.
- Alfred JingleA fast-talking strolling actor and trickster who lives off other people's trust and keeps crossing Pickwick's path.
- Mrs BardellPickwick's widowed landlady, who has a young son and misunderstands her lodger's words, with consequences for them both.
- Nathaniel WinkleThe club's would-be sportsman, who boasts of skills he lacks and falls for a young woman named Arabella Allen.
- Tracy TupmanThe plump, romantic member of the club who is always sure that love is just around the corner.
- Augustus SnodgrassThe club's dreamy would-be poet, who travels with Pickwick and speaks in grand, vague phrases.
- Mr WardleThe hearty owner of Dingley Dell farm, a generous host who welcomes Pickwick's party and guards his family.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 34 h 32 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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The Pickwick Papers
by Charles Dickens · 1836
A trusting retired businessman sets out to study human nature, and a lawsuit puts his kindness to the test.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A club of curious men sets out
The book opens with the Pickwick Club, whose members meet in London to hear the papers of their founder, Samuel Pickwick. He is a retired businessman, bald and bespectacled, who wears gaiters and a round waistcoat and believes the best of everyone. His idea is simple. He and three companions will travel the country, observe the places and people they find, and report back to the club.
The three companions are very different men. Tracy Tupman is plump and sure that he is still a great lover. Augustus Snodgrass fancies himself a poet and speaks in large, vague phrases. Nathaniel Winkle is a young man who boasts of his skill at sport, though he has hardly held a gun or ridden a horse.
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What is The Pickwick Papers about?
It tells of Samuel Pickwick and his three friends, who travel through England to study people and meet cheats, lovers and lawyers. A misunderstanding with his landlady leads to a lawsuit that tests his character.
Who is Sam Weller in The Pickwick Papers?
Sam is a young London boots who becomes Pickwick's servant. His sharp tongue, loyalty and street wisdom made him the best-loved character in the book, and he helped the story find its voice.
When was The Pickwick Papers written and published?
Dickens wrote it in 1836 and 1837, when he was in his twenties. It came out in monthly parts before being gathered into a single book. It is fiction, but it reflects real English life of the time.
The author
Charles Dickens
1812–1870 · English novelist
Charles Dickens was an English novelist born in Portsmouth in 1812. He lived in London and later at Gad’s Hill Place in Kent, where he died in 1870. His books include The Pickwick Papers (1836–1837), A Christmas Carol (1843), David Copperfield (1849–1850), and Great Expectations (1860–1861).
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